The famous American manufacturer and the Michelin Group have achieved title success together in the FIA World Rally Championship, and in 2016, Michelin will assist Ford in its official return to the Le Mans 24 Hours and participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

In motorsport, the partnership between these two automotive industry heavyweights has been comparatively recent.

Ford and Michelin’s first joint success in the FIA World Rally Championship came when Didier Auriol steered his Sierra Cosworth to victory on the 1988 Tour de Corse.

Michelin has since gone on to triumph with all of the brand’s rallying contenders, from the Escort RS Cosworth and Escort WRC through to the Focus RS WRC and Fiesta RS WRC.

In 2007, it was with the support of the Michelin Group that Ford clinched the WRC Manufacturers’ world championship crown. Notwithstanding the American company’s subsequent withdrawal from WRC competition at the end of the 2012 campaign, Michelin continues to supply tyres for the Fiesta RS WRCs entered by independent British outfit M-Sport.

As it prepares to make its official return to the Le Mans 24 Hours and its entrance into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2016, Ford has selected Michelin tyres for its all-new GTs.

With a success record of four consecutive victories at La Sarthe for one and 24 for the other, there seems little doubt that this revived endurance racing partnership will be a winning one.